Bryan Colangelo should feel some heat for Raptors’ slow start: Cox

If not for The Roundball Artists Formerly Known As The Bullets, there would be no one below the Toronto Raptors in the entire NBA.

This is not quite what Bryan Colangelo promised, is it?

Almost seven years after he arrived and immediately made a splash with a division title for which he was anointed NBA executive of the year, we’re getting close to rock bottom.

Who knew that first year would be the high-water mark?

Now, in a season that was supposed to be at the very least better than last season’s death march, things are coyote ugly. Some of the losses have been close, some have been blamed on unfair officiating (a constant on-air lament), and some of the losses have not been close at all, like Tuesday in Houston (16 points) and Wednesday without Andrea Bargnani in Memphis (21 points).

In the first 16 games, there have been 13 defeats. If the Wizards ever break out — and they got their first win Wednesday night — there may be a rung left for the Raps to fall.

Some are still preaching patience and hope. Maybe that’s right. Maybe stability matters more than ever now.

There are, to be fair, some pieces here. Kyle Lowry has turned into a strong acquisition this year, and Colangelo was wise enough to protect the first-round pick sent to Houston with a complicated set of conditions if it turns out to be a top-three selection.

But even if you love Lowry, this is a team with a pedestrian starting five, little in the way of toughness or veteran leadership and no players likely to be NBA all-stars in the future.

Colangelo inherited a franchise player in Bosh, lost him for nothing and hasn’t been able to acquire anything close since. Jonas Valanciunas looks to be a solid bet to be a good to very good player, mind you, and DeMar DeRozan shows flashes, although not often enough to make his flashy new contract make a lot of sense.

First-round pick Terrence Ross finally showed his potential with 19 points on Tuesday. Another first rounder, Ed Davis, has yet to show he’s even NBA worthy.

What’s interesting is that Colangelo, while dogged on social media, continues to largely escape blame for being the architect of this miserable situation, even with the team on pace to win even fewer games than last year’s 22.

Perhaps it’s the overall lack of interest in the Raptors; even without hockey to compete against, many Raptor television audiences fall below 100,000 viewers. The print/broadcast coverage of the team in general is much less than that which blankets the Leafs and Blue Jays.

Still, imagine the outcry if the Leafs were playing and started 3-13 out of the gate. Let’s just say “embattled” would come before “Brian” in every reference to Burke, the Leaf GM.

Yet Burke’s been in Toronto for exactly four years this Thursday, and Colangelo is closing in on seven, and there’s no similar heat on him.

Even this season, the brunt of the criticism for the team’s inept start has been aimed at Bargnani, the No. 1 pick of a bad draft in ’06, who may be a viable NBA scorer some nights but is less than durable and hardly a franchise player. But little venom seems directed toward Colangelo, until now just another losing executive in a town filled with losing executives.

But maybe the standards are a-changing.

The Argonauts have won a championship, proving such a thing is possible in Toronto. Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has upped the ante for GMs in town by moving out of the slow development phase into a hyperdrive for real success by making a series of eye-catching moves.

Things are happening, just not with the Raps. Colangelo tried to do a big deal in the summer but swung and missed on Steve Nash. It was a long-shot attempt to get a bona fide name — an aging one, but a name — in a Raps uniform.

Losing in Memphis to the former Vancouver Grizzlies was just another slap in the face. Vancouver may have failed, but 11 years later the Grizzlies are far ahead of the Raptors as a competitive basketball squad. Their organization is better. It’s not a star-studded squad, but a smart, capable one.

This isn’t a call for Colangelo’s neck. Not yet. This is a young team, and one struggling with a horrible early schedule.

But it is to question how much longer Colangelo can seemingly dance around any and all responsibility for the basketball catastrophe in this city.

As much as I personally think we should wait and let him stay the course, if this performance continues MLSE will have no choice but to fire him. At the end of the day it comes down to to accountability and they(MLSE) have to act to show that they are serious.

The big question though is "what next"? If Stefanski is allowed to take over, we'll see a continuation of this plan at a lesser cost. If a new guy is hired, he'll probably tare things up and start afresh. This could be time consuming and possibly reap no reward. Hence IMO, it may be a gamble but the best option, let Bryan stay a little longer. Again it's only my opinion.

As for the OP, Cox is nothing but a puck head who knows little about basketball. But he makes a good point about accountability. Why are Raptors fans (and the media) so patient with this guy?

Its sad that its come to needing a puck head and a rookie journalist to come out and speak the obvious.

I think the comparison between Burke and Colangelo is excellent. I've always wondered why the media has no problems calling Burke out on any little thing, and yet Colangelo always gets a pass. Always and excuse, always another reason.

If it wasn't becoming clear before, the day Bosh walked out the door and Colangelo collected his pick back, a 30th over all pick and a TPE should have been a slap in the face. I don't care who thought Bosh was staying, who said what and how it was said. Bosh leaving was an obvious and glaring risk, one the entire NBA world outside Toronto new was happening, and Colangelo placed his bet and lost. What we got as a response is "Bosh deceived me", "he wasn't good enough to build around", "he stopped trying". Some maybe true, some maybe not but all still Colangelo's responsibility.

Its sad that its come to needing a puck head and a rookie journalist to come out and speak the obvious.

I think the comparison between Burke and Colangelo is excellent. I've always wondered why the media has no problems calling Burke out on any little thing, and yet Colangelo always gets a pass. Always and excuse, always another reason.

If it wasn't becoming clear before, the day Bosh walked out the door and Colangelo collected his pick back, a 30th over all pick and a TPE should have been a slap in the face. I don't care who thought Bosh was staying, who said what and how it was said. Bosh leaving was an obvious and glaring risk, one the entire NBA world outside Toronto new was happening, and Colangelo placed his bet and lost. What we got as a response is "Bosh deceived me", "he wasn't good enough to build around", "he stopped trying". Some maybe true, some maybe not but all still Colangelo's responsibility.

Yep, he was delusional enough to think that a core of Hedo/Bargs/Bosh could make it past the first round of the playoffs. Bosh would've left anyway no matter what happened.

the BIG difference here is NHL Players in general think of the history & success of the past with the leafs & would like to play for them.. NBA is WAY different NBA players think of T.O as an Outpost in Alaska.. nothing but loosing & to top it off most of them think canada speaks french everywere & we all eat poutine & say "Eh" all the time.. it doesnt help when douches like Bosh say even the air smells different up here... Most NBA players asume it stinks like pig shit everywere since its called HogTown LOL

in short Raptors will always have a stigma with Players in the NBA & in turn have a disadvantage with signing players until we create a culture of success.

Leafs are a 1Billion dollar team with a rich "history" in a sport dominated by canadian talent who know the value of playing for a historic original six team..(kinda like how U.S NBA players always like the Celtics & Lakers)

BC def. deserves to be under the knife too though but for burke the hammer should have already fallen on his ego!

at least BC goes for it....Burke does nothing that will hurt his reputation hence why he has done nothing to improve the team..he stuck his foot in his mouth with the NO long term contracts & NO RFA offers crap that if he goes back on it now in Stains his ego!!